Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche at the Centenial Celebrations of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910-1991), Shechen Monastery, Nepal, 20-22 February, 2010. Photo by Matthieu Ricard.
Over at his wonderful blog, the great Ven. Matthieu Ricard reports on the centennial celebrations of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s birth–complete with pictures! Check it out here.
My latest “On the Buddhism Beat” post is now online over at Shambhala Sun Space. This week, I talk to U Pyinya Zawta, a founding member and the executive director of the All Burma Monks’ Alliance. One of the leaders of 2007′s “Saffron Revolution”–the nonviolent demonstration by thousands of Buddhist monastics calling for economic and political justice in the military-ruled country–he was a guest of the producer and director of Best Documentary nominee Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country at last night’s 82nd Annual Academy Awards. (Burma VJ ultimately lost to The Cove, though, however.) I must say: it was a tremendous honor to speak with him and our translator Aung Moe Win. Here’s a snippet of our conversation…
There have been some interesting editorials in the last week or so—specifically at the New York Times’s Carpetbagger blog and Foreign Policy—about the “importance” of the Oscar nomination for Burma VJ. Would you say something about why you think the Academy’s notice is so important?
Burma VJ is very important because it can help raise awareness and educate viewers about what’s happening on the ground in Burma. The film shows the horrible things that are taking place there, and also demonstrates how people are forced to gather information. The more people who see the film, the more people can see what’s happening.
Read the rest right here.
My Twitter feed is now posted in the right-hand column of this blog for the reader’s convenience. I often post things there that don’t always find their way here, so, depending on how interesting you find the things I post here, you might like to keep an eye on the feed. And, please: follow me @RevDannyFisher!
